


but we're so in love

by buckymyson (trashfinity)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And angst, But mostly fluff, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, best friends since five years after birth finn and rey, honestly the angst isn't even the finnrey their relationship is just a good time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 08:10:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11309286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashfinity/pseuds/buckymyson
Summary: It all starts with Rosie Johnson on the playground in the second grade. Finn and Rey figure things out from there.





	but we're so in love

**Author's Note:**

> hey look I wrote a 5000 word one shot instead of working on my ongoing fics LIKE A BOSS
> 
> but it's summer break and I had an idea and I couldn't stop myself.
> 
> title taken from "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran cuz apparently everything i write is about childhood friends who fall in love
> 
> hope you enjoy!

**S E V E N**

 

It all starts because Rosie Johnson got to be the flower girl in her cousin's wedding. Their classmate spends _hours_ recounting her duties, her dress, the magic. Half of the girls are enchanted, the other half disgusted, and all but one boy run away screaming about cooties. One recess, Rosie decorates the swing set poles with flowers and long leaves plucked from the hill and declares the triangle archway to be the altar. With her newfound sway over half of the younger grades, she picks two willing candidates and marries them with flower rings.

 

Rey has only one friend, Finn, whom she drags over to the proceedings just to see what's going on. But Rosie has other plans, and upon their approach, she informs them that they are her next customers to be married. As the one boy who isn't disgusted by these games, Finn agrees. Rey isn't as sure, though. It could be a way to humiliate her like Paige Sampson did two years ago in kindergarten.

 

But Finn won't give up. He borrows one of Rosie’s flower rings, kneels down in front of Rey, and says, “Marry me, Rey. Be the best friend I could ever ask for!”

 

Rey, never one to disappoint her best friend, accepts. Rosie marries them not two minutes later, and the deal is sealed with a kiss on the cheek.

 

The rest of their break is spent on the swings, laughing and singing together, like they always have. Rosie calls it their honeymoon.

 

“Do you think we'll ever get married for real some day?” She may have agreed to the wedding, but Rey isn't so little as to believe she and Finn are really _married_ now. But, as she thinks of the future, of third grade looming its multiplication-filled head, she imagines a time where it could be real.

 

Finn shrugs. “Maybe. That way we could stay friends forever.”

 

She doesn't disillusion him with the realities of marriage and what it entails. After all, she's only seven. She barely understands it herself.

 

 

* * *

 

 

**T E N**

 

They soon forget about that day, passing fleetingly alongside Rosie’s ceremonies. Life moves on, and they grow older. Third grade is easy, and so is fourth grade. The jury’s still out in fifth grade.

 

Instead of weddings under the swings, the kids in her grade are dating beneath the bleachers. Friends stand to the side, giggling as a girl and boy hold hands around the wooden steps because boys used to have cooties and now they're cute. Messages of crushes and intentions are passed along like a game of tag or telephone, travelling from the crushee to the object of their affection by passing no fewer than three giddy mouths. Break-up, make-ups, first dates and first kisses; nothing is secret and everything happens on the bleachers.

 

Rey is exempt from this rule, because her only friend is Finn and she doesn't have a crush. Instead, she bides her time on the playground, swinging off the monkey bars like she was born in the jungle and has a furry tail. Some days, if she feels like it, she'll join in their games of ultimate tag, putting her swinging skills to good use so she doesn't ever need to touch the ground. Finn sometimes joins her games, but sometimes he'll just sit on the edge of the playground, or off the ledge in front of the rope ladder. She wishes he would play with them more often, but she doesn't pester him anymore.

 

And then, on a warm spring day in early May, they get The Talk. Many already know about it, puberty and sex and all that, Rey included. A mixture of TV, the internet, and a few incidents involving her parents and unlocked doors have taught her enough basic anatomy and physiology. She knows that there has to be a dad and mom to make a baby, and that babies are made by having sex. The logistics of it escape her yet, but that's why she's going to class.

 

Their teacher puts on a video that explains the differences between girls and boys, and how they come together to create a child that grows in the mother's womb, and _everyone_ is giggling because they're immature ten year olds who find humor in bathroom jokes. Beside a straight-faced Rey, Finn sits unmoved, watching the screen with opposing looks of intrigue and disgust.

 

That afternoon, when Finn and Rey walk home to their neighbouring houses, they go back and forth, asking the questions left unanswered. Some of their more immature classmates would be unable to control their laughter as Finn asked if there was a purpose to sex besides babies, and Rey wondered exactly how sex works, but they are the most mature fifth graders in their school, and neither find it strange.

 

“Would you want to have kids with me?” Finn asks, slowing his stride as they near his driveway. It's an innocent question, and Rey knows that her friend has gotten more of a religious sex talk, so she doesn't expect him to realize making a baby with someone is a lot more than what God grants. “We _are_ still married.” He elbows her side playfully.

 

She’d forgotten about their wedding back in second grade. The flower ring was destroyed later that day during an intense game of soccer baseball, and no one ever talks about it anymore. It's all about _boys_ now, not _love_.

 

“Is this your way of proposing?” She means at as a joke, but her heart flutters as she thinks about spending a whole lifetime with Finn.

 

“Would you say no if it was?”

 

“Yes. But only because we're too young. Ask me again when we're eighteen, and maybe, I'll say yes.”

 

It's a joke. None of this is serious. They both know it. And yet, Rey imagines herself in ten years time. Hopefully in university, working on her degree in astrophysics, and wearing a ring given to her by Finn. She'll come home every night to Finn. She'll sleep in a bed next to Finn. She'll spend her whole life loving Finn.

 

“I'll hold you to that.” He's walking away now, shuffling backwards while he holds her gaze. “See you tomorrow?”

 

Rey can only nod, too lost in his eyes to form a coherent response.

 

Have his eyes always been this beautiful?

 

 

* * *

 

 

**T H I R T E E N**

 

Puberty changes things no matter how desperately Rey clings to the ways of old, of recess on the swing sets and play dates in her backyard with her best and only friend.

 

The move up to middle school is uneventful, but then, that's never been the problem. Their town is small, with two elementary schools feeding into one middle school and one high school. One phone call from Rey's mom and she's guaranteed to be in Finn's class. Rey would have just as easily joined a different class, but assurance that her best friend will still be by her side is comforting.

 

They assimilate to life in middle school quickly, clinging to their crisp schedules like a lifeline for the first week before they learn the school is quite easy to navigate. Finn and Rey stick by each other's sides, though they both reach out to new people and make new friends. By Halloween, they've amassed a small group, triple the size of what it used to be. Poe and Finn grow close, but Finn promises that he can have two best friends, so Rey doesn't bother herself with worry. Besides, she and Finn are neighbours; he couldn't get rid of her if he tried.

 

Sixth and seventh grade fly by like a dream as the six friends all grow closer. Poe and Snap sometimes add their girlfriends to the mix, but the relationships aren't serious and typically end within a month, so the number of pubescent teens eating Rey out of house and home remains fairly stable. Things are normal. Things are great. It's just six friends swimming in Rey's pool as a heat wave blasts through town, or six friends running down to the grocery store for movie snacks they pay for with their allowances.

 

And then Rey goes to Mexico for two weeks, and Finn goes to Europe the week after, and they reunite after three weeks as different people. Rey now owns three bras and gets monthly visits from Aunt Flo, while Finn’s voice has dropped slightly and he's sprung up like a damn tree so he's a solid five inches taller. But there's something else that Rey can't place about him. Something's different.

 

It's not until she, Jess, and Kaydel are swimming in the pool, yelling over the fence at Poe to convince the boys to join them, that this difference in Finn finds a name.

 

“Damn!” Jess whistles as Finn walks onto the back porch, glowing in the midsummer sun. “Finn got _hot_!”

 

Rey's cheeks heat up as she catches her friend’s gaze, though she blames the sun for her sudden rosiness. She can't be . . . attracted to him. Can she? Finn is her best friend. _Friend._ No crushes here. No sirree.

 

And yet, she finds herself unable to look away, feels her heart beat double time against her ribs. She’d be a fool to deny that Finn has grown into his body. Gone are the days of awkward, lanky Finn, replaced with a skinny but sturdy Finn with a brilliant, charming smile. Already, he’s started to bulk up, and Rey sees his potential. By high school graduation, the girls will be falling over him. The thought puts a bitter taste in Rey’s mouth. Finn is hers, has been since the day he moved in next door.

 

She can’t look him in the eyes for the rest of the day.

 

Confrontation is avoided for the rest of the afternoon, but she knows it’s inevitable, futile to fight against.

 

So, she takes matters into her own hands after dinner.

 

Jess and Kaydel leave around eight, with Poe and Snap following ten minutes later. Quiet settles over the backyard as Finn and Rey sit on the steps, silently sucking on their popsicles. Behind them, Rey’s parents bicker in the kitchen under the belief that neither teenager can hear them throwing around words like _divorce_ and _custody_ . In order to distract herself from the beginning of the end, she focuses her attention on the boy beside her. The setting sun casts a warm, orange glow over his face, enchanting Rey with its - _his_ \- beauty.

 

“Do - do you ever think about me? In a more-than-friends kind of way?” She’s looking at the ground as she asks this, watching his an ant scrambles over to the melted popsicle by her foot.

 

“I mean, I’ve thought about a lot of people in a “more-than-friends” way. Why do you ask?”

 

“Just - no, nevermind. It’s dumb.”

 

A warm finger taps her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his. His eyes are full of the same kindness and warmth he’s always had, but Rey notices something else, flickering like a candle, something she can’t place. “You can tell me anything, Rey. No judgement.” A beat. Then: “Do you . . . do you like me?”

 

“I - maybe. I think,” she admits tentatively, gnawing on her lower lip.

 

He smiles, wide and bright and kind, and tucks a strand of hair behind Rey’s ear. “I think I maybe like you, too.”

 

Their lips meet in the middle, sticky and sweet, noses bumping awkwardly. It’s messy and strange and perfect. The sound of crickets chirping in the night, her parents arguing inside, screaming children running around in backyards, fade into the background, into nothingness, until only she and Finn remain. Them against the world, as they’ve always promised.

 

A slamming door forces them apart in surprise. Rey twists around to see her father fuming five feet behind her, grumbling curses he doesn’t think she can hear under his breath. If he saw the kiss, he’s too angry to mention it.

 

“That good for nothing . . . fucking shit . . . me cago en tu puta madre . . .”

 

Now, Rey has been speaking Spanish for her entire life and knows enough swears to make a sailor blush, but this one is _bad_ . She isn’t quite sure of a translation, but from the context and _madre_ , she easily assumes that it’s one of the worst things in the Spanish language to say.

 

“Dad?” Hesitantly, Rey stands, watching her father pace back and forth. “What’s going on?”

 

His head lifts up, and she sees the toll taken on him. Dark bags encircle his weary eyes, lips turned down in a permanent scowl. His skin is pale and unshaved. Basically, he looks like shit, though Rey doesn’t mention this.

 

He’s silent for a moment, a spectrum of unreadable emotion flashing across his face as he rubs a hand over his chin. Faintly, Rey hears the front door slam, the frame of the house shaking violently from the force exerted. She watches as her father’s shoulders fall, sinking into himself. His voice cracks, raw with hurt. All of his anger has disappeared from the lines of his face, replaced with despair. “She’s gone.”

 

Rey doesn’t bother asking for an explanation; she understands enough.

 

“I’m gonna go,” says Finn, pointing behind him to his house, reminiscent of the awkward kid who tripped up the stairs on the first day of middle school. His soft lips press a kiss onto Rey’s cheek, and she can’t suppress a faint smile. “I’ll see you later.”

 

With Finn departed, her father breaks down, telling his side of the story through heart-wrenching sobs. Only on one occasion has Rey seen him shed a tear, and that was after hearing the news that Poe’s mother, a close friend of his from college, had passed.

 

“You still love her,” Rey notes, rubbing a soothing hand on his back. There’s something to be said for the irony of the situation, of a daughter comforting her father as he sobs into her shoulder, and Rey forces the tears back. She’s the parent now; she has no choice but to be strong in her father’s moment of weakness.

 

“Not as much as I love you. Never as much.”

 

Rey clings to the memories of a happier childhood, desperately hoping for those moments to return. But the earth keeps turning, and time moves forward. Those days are gone.

 

Puberty changes everything.

 

 

* * *

 

 

**S I X T E E N**

 

“Do you _have_ to go?”

 

Rey rolls her eyes as she shoves a shirt into her suitcase. “Yes, Finn. I’m not going to skip my own father’s wedding.”

 

“You’ve already been to two! What’s missing one going to do?” he argues, pulling her hand until she topples onto the bed beside him.

 

“One,” she starts, unhooking her boyfriend’s fingers from her wrist as she pushes herself off the bed, “happened when I was two. The only proof of my presence are the pictures. The second was over before it started. But I have a better feeling about this one, and I won’t miss it just because you’re needy.” Stepping purposefully, Rey grabs two dresses and a sweater from her closet in one fell swoop, folding them in the air with practiced skill as she swipes a pair of jeans from the window sill. They’re packed in the suitcase with order and precision, a talent gained from jetting off to England, or Mexico, or back home every few weeks during the summer and holidays.

 

After her mother’s . . . sudden departure, her father was served with divorce papers two days into Rey’s final year of middle school. Little arguing took place, and her father was granted sole custody, though she visits her mother four weeks every year, hence the trips to England. By the time the divorce was finalized, her father had already moved on to another woman, which really should have been an indication that their relationship wouldn’t work. But no one listened to a thirteen year old Rey, and by the end of eighth grade, she was set to have a stepmother. Only, she’d been right about them moving too quickly and the bride called it off the morning of the big day.

 

Fast-forward two and a half years, and her father is engaged for a second time, though Rey is much more confident in their relationship. For starters, it moved as glacially slow as her and Finn. (Three and half years together and they waited for two of those before making it to third base. As she said, _glacial._ ) It was painfully obvious that her father was in love for many months before working up the courage to ask for a first date. (Six months he waited. Six. Freaking. Months. He only bucked up and asked because Rey was sick of the pining and threatened to do it for him.) Their relationship didn’t move much faster. It takes them another six months to say “I love you” despite her father confirming his love for the woman two months after their meeting, and another fourteen months for her father to propose. (She saw the ring he bought after their third date, so he can’t claim that he wasn’t ready.) Now, with four months of intense planning behind them, the wedding is in five days time and Rey is ecstatic.

 

“Besides,” she adds, reaching for a pair of shoes kicked under her bed, “you’ll be down in four days. I’m sure you can survive that long without me.”

 

“I can if I have some incentive.” His attempts to wink seductively are less sexy and more “I have something stuck in my eye”, earning a loving chuckle from Rey. Her boyfriend is such a nerd.

 

The pinging of her phone draws her attention to her charging station. Clear as day is a text message from a contact whose name is only angry faces and the poop emoji.

 

_‘Coming down for the week of St. Patrick’s day.’_

 

Mentally, Rey counts the weeks until the infamous Irish holiday and curses. Four weeks exactly. Her mother will be arriving a day before the festivities without a doubt, meaning her weekend - Finn’s birthday weekend - will instead be spent with the demon that donated half of her DNA. So, not only does she have a limited twenty-eight days to rewrite her entire schedule and prepare for a week of hell, but she’ll have to miss her boyfriend’s seventeenth birthday. His golden birthday.

 

“Dammit.” Hot tears well up in her eyes, burning with fury and sorrow. These are not the first plans her mother has ruined, but their lack of contact in the past six months had led Rey to believe the woman had finally given up on expecting a relationship. That bridge was burned as soon as she walked out that summer.

 

A soft voice pulls Rey out of her volatile thoughts. “Hey. Come here.” Finn, in his dorky Batman pajama set and wrapped in her Wonder Woman blanket, is a beacon of warmth and comfort, and she can’t resist the soothing feeling of cuddling with him.

 

Pushing her suitcase aside, she climbs onto the mattress and lays next to Finn so their noses are brushing, eyes locked. A finger brushes a strand of hair out of her face, and her eyes flit down to his hand stroking her cheek. As a stray tear falls, he wipes it away with his thumb, a loving and intimate gesture Finn is known for. _God_ , she doesn’t deserve him. He’s so kind and good, gentle and loving, strong and passionate, where she’s selfish, volatile, sarcastic, weak.

 

In her head, her mother’s voice rings, clear and sharp as a spoon against crystal.

 

“Don’t listen to her, Rey. You are so much better than she could ever dream of being. You are generous, and caring, and loving, and strong.” For each trait, he kisses a different part of her face: her nose, her forehead, her cheek, her jaw. “I will never love another person like I love you.” This time, he kisses her lips, tender and gentle. An all-encompassing warmth spreads like fire through Rey’s veins, soothing her frayed nerves.

 

Since the start of their friendship, Finn has possessed an unparalleled ability to calm and reassure her. One hug on the first day of Kindergarten after an older boy pulled her braids and mocked her accent and she was a kitten curled up tight and warm. Their first kiss calmed her nerves and filled her with a warm, fuzzy feeling. His voice soothed her into a peaceful sleep from over the phone after an intense fight with her mother. Cuddling is all she needs from him to turn a bad day into a great one.

 

At this point, Rey’s not sure she could ever live without him.

 

“I am truly, madly, deeply in love with you, Rey Andor. Don’t you ever forget it.”

 

A moment passes, quiet but intense. Then: “Marry me.”

 

His eyebrows furrow, lips quirked down in confusion. “Did you just - ”

 

“Marry me,” she repeats, louder this time as she gains confidence. “Maybe not yet, but in a few years. After graduation. Or before. It doesn’t matter. I just can’t fathom my life without you, Finn, and I know you feel the same.”

 

“I don’t have a ring yet. Poe was helping me save up for one, for your birthday, but I’m still short.”

 

Oh, her beautiful, adorable, _sweet_ boyfriend. She caresses his cheek, shaking her head. “I don’t need a ring. All I want is you.”

 

“Yes, but I’m not going to let my fiancée walk around without one.”

 

“Is that a yes?” Rey’s heart thumps in her chest, fast and strong. “Will you marry me?”

 

His smile is brilliant and beaming, his eyes sparkling with love and devotion. “Nothing would make me happier. 

 

* * *

 

 

(When Finn arrives at the resort four days later, he proposes properly, with a ring on the beach at sunset. Rey couldn’t imagine saying anything but “yes”.)

 

 

* * *

 

 

**N I N E T E E N**

 

With shaking hands, Rey rings the doorbell outside her childhood home and listens as it emits a tune she could recite by heart. An ever-sturdy presence beside her, Finn stands tall, fingers laced with hers. The contact soothes her nerves slightly, brings about a warmth in the frigid February air. More than six years of being together, plus another eight years of friendship, and his touch has yet to lose its effect on her.

 

Inside, sharp claws scratch the hardwood and a choir of barking fills the silence. A shout of frustration sounds as one of the two human inhabitants shoves their way through the hoard of dogs to the front door. The familiar British accent and head of brown hair tell Rey it’s her stepmother, which would explain the frustration. (Her father has a knack for controlling their three dogs, but her stepmother struggles more often than not.)

 

“Rey! We weren’t expecting you. Or is this another case of your father forgetting to call me?”

 

They’re ushered in quickly, shedding their scarves and jackets with a practiced ease as they avoid stepping on the surrounding pets. With a smile, her stepmother accepts their coats and hangs them in the closet beside her own.

 

“Actually, my dad doesn’t know we’re in town. But there’s something we wanted to talk about, and it’s easier to do in person.” She sits on the stairs to remove her boots, scratching K2’s head as the old greyhound passes by. “Is he home?”

 

On cue, her father yells from upstairs, “Jyn? Who’s there?”

 

With a roll of her eyes, Jyn hollers back, “Come down and see for yourself, you lazy ass!”

 

One of the many reasons Rey knew her father’s second engagement would work better than the first was the dynamic between him and Jyn. All day, they lob insults back and forth, but it’s never hostile, which is the complete opposite of the relationship between her father and her mother. Bickering, roasting, insulting: it’s how they show their affection for each other. Personally, Rey prefers to show her feelings in a more traditional, romantic way, but to each their own. Besides, her father is happier being called an ass by Jyn than a god by his ex-wife, and Rey is all for her father’s happiness.

 

Light, agile feet descend the stairs to the living room, where the loveseat is now occupied by Finn and Rey, with Jyn on the couch opposite them. On the ground lay K2 and Stormy, while Hellhound slobbers over his food in the adjacent kitchen. Not much has changed since she last lived here. Her father enters with a scowl that grows into a grin once he notices his daughter.

 

“Rey! Did I miss another call?”

 

Pushing herself to her feet, Rey walks over to hug her father. “No, but Finn and I have something we wanted to talk about, so we decided to drop by. Is that okay?” Not many times, but enough, she’s popped in for a surprise visit, only to see and/or hear her father and stepmother in a compromising position. Obviously, that is not the case today, but she’s grown accustomed to calling to check first, because she has been scarred enough for _two_ lifetimes.

 

Lithe arms wrap around her shoulders as he pulls her into a hug, and he presses a kiss to the top of her head. This type of fatherly affection was unheard of before her mother left, but her absence made room for their relationship to grow into what it is now, and Rey is grateful. The only man more important than her father is Finn, but even that race is a close one. “Of course. Is something wrong?”

 

Rey returns to her seat next to Finn, grabbing his hand for support. “Everything’s perfect.” Sharing a glance with her husband, Rey is unable to stop a wide grin from spreading across her features. Without saying a word, he takes out the two gift-wrapped boxes from the plastic bag by his feet and hands them to Rey. “These are for you.”

 

Suspiciously, her father eyes the couple, as if trying to read their minds, but accepts the proffered box nonetheless. Together, he and Jyn rip off the paper and pull off the boxes’ lids. Rey watches with bated breath as they reach into their boxes, eyes narrowed at the offending gifts. Her father pulls out his mug first and his halfway through reading the script when Jyn grabs hers. Slowly, their expressions evolve from suspicion to confusion, then pure joy once Rey confirms what they’re both thinking.

 

“Baby Jones-Andor is due on August 4th, though the schedule is subject to change, if she’s anything like her mother.”

 

(Rey was due on April 20th, but, after scaring her parents three separate times with false labor, was born ten days early, on April 10th. Her father likes to joke that her indecisiveness must have been squeezed out during birth.)

 

“She? You’re having a girl?” The look of wonder and amazement on her father’s face will never leave Rey’s memory. Only three times before has he ever appeared so elated: his third (and final) wedding day, Rey’s high school graduation, and her wedding day.

 

“We’re having a girl.”

 

Enveloped in a tight, comforting embrace by her father, Rey is unable to stop the tears of joy from spilling down her face. _Damn hormones._ She has an amazing relationship with her father and his wife, she has a husband who worships the ground she walks on, and a child that will grow up surrounded by unconditional love.

 

_She’s happy._

 

And maybe, just maybe, Rosie Johnson knew what she was doing.

 

 

* * *

 

 

**(B O N U S)**

 

 

* * *

 

 

**E I G H T E E N**

 

Rey's birthday starts normally. She wakes up, gets ready, and goes to school as though it's a regular day. The only difference is the “happy birthdays” directed her way as she walks the halls. Her friends greet her that morning in the cafeteria, where the ones who bought her a gift watch as she opens them before they all had off to class. So, nothing strange or unusual happens.

 

Except, Finn is aloof all day. Her texts, when not left unanswered, are responded to with one or two words, and he leaves her Snapchats on open. After the fifth text earning an answer no more complicated than _‘k'_ \- the nerve of that boy! - Rey nervously twists the diamond ring around her finger, nearly flinging it to the floor. It's been over a year since she proposed, and she's worried he's changed his mind. She can't exactly blame him, since it is a very big decision that was made by two (almost) seventeen year olds, but it would be nice for him to tell her instead of ignoring her all day.

 

By the time she pulls into her driveway, she's in tears from her anxiety. She used to be very confident and trusting in their relationship, but that was before her fiancé suddenly stopped communicating with her. And for all of this to happen today, on her birthday no less. That's a dagger to the heart.

 

Escaping to her backyard, hoping for some quiet to wallow in her self-pity as she bypasses the house, she fails to notice the trail of rose petals leading around the side of Finn's house to his back porch, or Finn himself waiting in the front window. The fairy lights strung up across the shared fence, the soft music playing in the background; she's oblivious to it all as she flops face-down into the hammock strung up between the two trees in her yard, shedding tears into her hands.

 

Suddenly, a warm hand touches her shoulder, and she jolts up. Standing before her in a bespoke suit, black jacket and pants with a white dress shirt keeping things classy, is Finn, his arm outstretched. “Come with me.”

 

She wants to say no, to spit in his face and stomp on his foot and throw her ring into the garbage. But she can't bring herself to do it. Instead, she throws her arms around him in a tight embrace, tucking her head into his shoulder. God, even ten minutes without him sucked, and she can't do it again. She lets him lead her to his backyard, following a step behind as he takes her hand. (And if she admires his ass in those pants, well. No one can really blame her.) His hand is warm against the cool April air, and Rey easily finds comfort in the touch she’d been craving. Things between them are just so natural and soothing; she's known people in difficult relationships who spend more time stressing than time together, and that's just not her and Finn. Maybe their friendship has helped form a stronger bond, or maybe it's just proof that they're meant to be.

 

Walking through the gate, Rey is taken aback by the decorations. Fairy lights, rose petals, a delicate wooden archway strung with purple flowers beneath the looming maple tree. It's breathtakingly beautiful. She now sees why there was a severe lack of communication throughout the day: he was busy setting this up to perfection.

 

He brings her to the center of the yard, standing so they face each other. Their eyes lock as he grasps her hands, and Rey's breath hitches in her throat. “Eight years ago, I asked if you wanted to have kids with me. You asked if it was a proposal, and then said to ask when we were eighteen and you’d say yes. Well, here we are.” Pulling a box from his front pocket, Finn flips the lid to reveal a delicate flower ring, like the ones exchanged back in second grade. “Marry me, Rey.”

 

She frowns, breaking their gaze to look at her left hand. “Didn't I already answer this question?”

 

“Marry me right now,” he amends. “I don't want to wait any longer.”

 

It's the dumbest idea she's heard all year.

 

So, of course, she says yes.

  

* * *

 

 

They promise forever under the wooden arch at sunset, holding hands as they exchange vows and rings, and then Finn is told to kiss the bride and he’s dipping her, lips meeting with a fiery passion. Their friends and families are cheering, whooping and whistling noisily as the couple shares their heated kiss.

 

“Ready for the adventure of a lifetime?” Finn murmurs, faces only inches apart.

 

“With you? Always.”

 

* * *

 

 

**F I N**

**Author's Note:**

> translations
> 
> \- me cago en tu puta madre: translated literally, it means "I shit on your bitch of a mother", and is apparently quite vulgar, so I might not recommend repeating this if you take a trip to Spain
> 
> (also just a fun fact cuz i'm such a nerd, Hellhound (whom I imagine to be a great big bovier dog cuz they're furry and BIG) got his name cuz that's the name of the AT-AT Rey lives in on Jakku, and Stormy is named after Jyn's childhood doll. I think we all know where K2 got his name, though.)
> 
> also also, the mugs say "the best parents get promoted to grandparents" and they give on to Jyn because she is way more Rey's mom than her actual mom. (also they use these mugs every day for the rest of their lives and you can fight me on this.(


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